1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic catalog systems, and more specifically, to processing methods for assisting online users in identifying and evaluating items that are on the electronic wish lists of other users.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of business-to-consumer commerce, it is common for online stores to provide an electronic wish list service. Using such a service, a customer of the online store can select products from the store's electronic catalog, and add these products to a personal wish list or gift registry (collectively “wish list”). Typically, a wish list search engine is also provided to allow users to search for the wish lists of other users by name and/or other criteria. Further, in some systems, the creator of the wish list is prompted to enter the email addresses of those to be notified of the wish list, and the service sends an email message to these addresses with a link to the wish list.
When a user purchases an item from a wish list of another, the online merchant typically ships the item to the wish list owner—typically without revealing the physical address or other personal information of the wish list owner to the purchaser. Once the product has been purchased, the wish list service typically either removes the purchased product from the wish list, or displays an indication that the product has already been purchased. In the case of gift registries, the service may also indicate the number of units requested and the number purchased.